Food Note

Food Note:Amoroso’s Bakery
by Lisa Duhart-Collins

Re-PLACE-ing Philadelphia is building an expanded archive of cultural memory that includes multiple histories, re-place-ing the established with new narratives and understandings. Notes from invited artists and community members consider place via the street, sound, food, trees, and other portals.

Lisa Duhart Collins remembers the smells of freshly baked rolls that formed her West Philly childhood.

One of my fondest memories of growing up in West Philly is the delicious smell of fresh rolls baking at the Amoroso’s Bakery. It was always a special treat to take the short walk from my house to buy the newly baked rolls. We would take them home where my mom would make us her homemade Philly Cheesesteaks. Throughout my life, whenever I order a cheesesteak from a local restaurant, I always think about sitting on my front steps and enjoying those fresh-baked bread smells.

I am saddened to hear that Amoroso’s is shutting down the West Philly location and moving operations to New Jersey. It gave me a sense of pride to know that an important part of this local delicacy was made in my old neighborhood. I am sorry that children growing up in West Philly today will be deprived of such a wonderful experience. It feels like a part of my childhood, and theirs, is being taken away.